– I'm not a Donut for you, – said this big sleepy meatball, that happened to be my companion. – And I won't go anywhere. The rescue team should be here. And I will be here, too.
Looks like, he gained some courage during the night. I already wanted to leave him be when I heard familiar mad laughter. The pride almost got us. They surely wander around the swamp and trying to sniff us out
– We gotta go – I almost pleased him, but with no effect.
– You've got the gun – he said calmly. – Shoot 'em all.
– You might as well talk it out. Come on, we're goners if we won't move!
– Sometimes you get jealous of the goners themselves. Gimme the gun and go. I'll cover you.
The last words had a clear taunt to me. I wanted to flee. But I couldn't. Seems like such a weenie like me has to prepare to defend myself.
The night fog almost faded away, when we saw another mammal coming to us, who was wearing a military camouflage. It was so unexpected, that I froze for a moment, and the gun already pointed in my face.
The guest was a captain, and didn't have any large equipment, aside from the name badge with "Bogo" on it. His face was tired, but calm. He was lucky not to kick the bucket, but I was afraid that I will do it right now.
– Yep. Stalkers. What should I do with you?
Donut was trying to get up, but the gun didn't move – looks like he saw what we made of.
– I'm not a stalker. I'm Benjamin Clawhauser. You should know about the recent chopper accident. I demand to get me out of here. Tell your chief about your success.
Bogo's look became curious:
– Hmm, yeah, I remember. Then who are you? – that was a question to me. – A pilot?
– She's surely a stalker, – Donut interrupted him. – Arrest her! She threatened me with a gun and some mutated hyenas!
Then we heard laughter. Again. I wondered if they're actually smart, because by the time we were fleeing from them, they could finally get us. The buffalo finally took the gun away. He took out the water bottle and shared with me. That was a good sign.
– Oh come on! – Donut yelled again. – Wasn't I clear about what to do?
While not paying attention to him, I stated to explain to Bogo, what is going on, in all details. He acted wisely shortly after I was done.
– Pack 'em up – he said to me. – And you: get up, – that was for the cheetah. – Time to get the hell out of here
And then the cheetah went nuts. He was suing and jailing everyone in his curses. He told us, who the hell we are, that he's done with it, that he only wanted to look at the Zone from above, that I'm just a dumb bunny whose ears are only long for a decorating and that the rescue team earns money for their job, not for drinking tea, sniffing heroine and paying for home strippers. And after the last one he was fed by a fist.
– GET UP, FROG! – Bogo said firmly. – I AM your rescue team. Two stalkers and military squad went to you yesterday. I'm the only one alive. And it would be sad if I'll kill you right now, but I was given an order. Get up!
And hit him under the ribs with his hoof.
– I have one place in my mind. There's a hill nearby with loads of stones. We can defend from there
I lost the pace with how fast he was acting. But I couldn't see how fast was he going and decided to help.
– You can't just go here, like you're in home, – I said. – You even had stalkers in your team!
The buffalo stopped and turned around.
– You think so? – He said with an irony. – Now let me tell you: they died first. Throwing their shit here and there, they suddenly dropped dead. Both of them! Believe me I've seen dead bodies before. They looked like they were dead for like a week.
– This is why you don't mess with marauders, – I said softly. – They have their own Zone route. These guys probably were young.
It seems he understood me perfectly. What a smart guy. Someone like him is very rare to meet nowadays.
Soon enough we made it to the spot. There were bunch of boulders and stones that looked as if they were used to build a cover area. So we used them for the same purpose: we built a rounded "fortress" – as if the stone round could actually be called a fortress – with a couple of weak spots to attract the pride. I shared my last supplies with Bogo, and Donut got nothing. For the bad behavior. The plan of actions was obvious, but the buffalo felt like he should make the orders of it. It probably helped him not to feel like a cornered prey. We should try not to let the hyenas inside, and if anything will go wrong – gather on the biggest boulder in the middle. We should also take care about the trees – nobody knows what Zone has prepared for us. Bogo surprised me when he pulled out two more pistols and unloaded the ammo packs. That's how you think ahead! He gave me one of the pistols and two ammo packs.
– Hold this, bunny. – He saw the weapon of mine. – Wow, what an ugly gun.
– That's a pneumatic dart shooter. Nothing illegal – I said, carefully holding my beloved pistol.
– Chill, I'm not a patrol, I don't care what do you carry. Take this one, too. Made from ceramic – the latest Zone-adapted development, double-barreled, 18 bullets in one magazine, almost silent, shoots from one barrel at a time and shells are coming from both sides.
He took the exact same gun for himself, played around with it a bit, and took out his main rifle. Donut probably didn't realize what kind of situation are we in, and his eyes had a "You will regret this" look. I was swinging the gun in my paw, looking at its handle, magazine changing mechanism, palming the grey material of shutter cover. My first impressions – softness and comfortable holding. No metal. My prettiest dream.
– Donut! – the buffalo liked my nickname given to him – Take all the small stones you can, and fast.
He obeyed unwillingly and started to gather them into my backpack. Bogo already finished his playing, and looks like he was feeling positive about all this. In 300 meters from us, there were slight silhouettes, nearly undistinguishable because of the poor morning light.
Donut! – Bogo shouted. – Get back! We have guests.
They found us.
